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In multi-ethnic societies, one way in which ethnicity manifests itself is in classifying people according to their ethnic origin. Such classification is based on stereotyping and is typically achieved by emphasizing certain common characteristics rather than individual particularities. Both lived experience and folklore corroborate the fact that ethnic stereotypes, ethnic self-awareness, and identity are also influenced by historical circumstances. This article focuses on Lithuanians’ and Latvians’ attitudes towards Poles and Germans, and towards one another during the period between the eighteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries. The aim of this article is to reveal how the folklore of the two neighbouring nations, Lithuanians and Latvians, depicts the aforementioned ethnic groups; what historical events, cultural and social factors determined the similarities and differences in their portrayal in Lithuanian and Latvian folklore.

Žodžiai pavasaris, vasara, ruduo ir žiema daugumai žmonių vis dar asocijuojasi ne tik su meteorologija, oru, metų laikais, bet ir su žmogaus gyvenimo ciklu. Stebėdami kintančią aplinką, žmonės ją sieja su besikeičiančiu žmogaus gyvenimu. Šio straipsnio tikslas – ištirti, kokios žmogiškosios savybės, žmogų supančios aplinkos reiškiniai atskleidžiami, o sykiu ir vertinami lietuvių paremijose, pasitelkiant metų laikų įvaizdį. Straipsnyje aptariamas tradicinės kultūros žmogaus požiūris į skirtingus metų laikus ir tai, kaip jis kinta šiandieniame pasaulyje. Metų laikai, kaip nemažai kitų gyvosios ir negyvosios gamtos objektų, tampa vienu vertinimo matu, kuris pasitelkiamas vertinant įvairias žmogaus išvaizdos ar charakterio savybes, supančią aplinką. Dominuojantys su metų laikais siejami vaizdiniai įgauna metaforinių prasmių – ūkinė veikla, meteorologiniai reiškiniai. Ypač ryškiai išsiskiria metų laikų opozicijos: pavasaris ir ruduo, vasara ir žiema. Metų laikai dažnai personifikuojami: įvaizdžiui kurti pasitelkiami žmogaus fiziniai bruožai, jo pomėgiai ar amatai. Siekiant įvertinti kuo įvairiapusiškiau, pasitelkiamas pavasaris, kuris siejamas ir su teigiamomis, ir su neigiamomis savybėmis. Nors ruduo – tai materialinių gėrybių, santuokos partnerio paieškų metas, tačiau tradicinėje pasaulėžiūroje ryškiau nei ūkinė gausa atsispindi gamtos sąlygų kaita. Pastebėta, jog vasara vertinama geriau nei kiti metų laikai, su kuriais ji yra lyginama, tačiau individualiuose priežodžiuose vasara neturi ryškaus teigiamo skiriamojo požymio. Žiema visais laikais buvo sunkiausias, nemaloniausias ir savo trukme nuobodžiausias metų laikas, ką atspindi ir paremijų tekstai. Such words as spring, summer, autumn and winter still have association not only with meteorology, weather or seasons, but also with the cycle of human life for many people. People who observed the changing environment often connected this with a changing life of man. The aim of this article – to research which human characteristics, phenomena and attributes are revealed and valued in Lithuanian paremias by the image of seasons. It also inevitably speaks about man’s approach to different seasons in traditional culture and how it is changing nowadays. Texts from various printed or computerized sources have been used to illustrate it. Seasons,as many other objects of living or inanimate nature, become one of the valuing measures. They are invoked for valuing various characteristics of man’s appearance and character and the surrounding. Dominating images, which are connected with different seasons and assume metaphorical meanings, are agricultural activity and meteorology. The oppositions of seasons (spring-autumn, summer-winter) are accentuated and very often. Seasons are quite often personified: man’s attributes, crafts and hobbies are invoked. The most versatile season is spring as it used for valuing positive and negative characteristics either. Although autumn was a season of material goods and wedding season, but paremias emphasize sadness because of changing weather. It should be noted that only summer bears a highly positive value compared to other seasons. Winter was the hardest, most unpleasant and most boring season of all and this is reflected in paremieas.

Šiuo straipsniu pradedama nuosekliai tirti lietuvių paremijų vartosena elektroniniame diskurse. Bendravimas internetinėje erdvėje, „kalbėjimas rašant“, šiuolaikinės komunikacijos tyrėjų laikomas santykiniu šnekamosios kalbos atitikmeniu. Taigi ši bendravimo atmaina paremiologui paranki tiek ieškant paremijų tradicinės vartosenos tęstinumo liudijimų, tiek nustatant jos modernias raiškas. Šiuokart tirti pasirinktas vienas iš elektroninio diskurso žanrų – publicistinių straipsnių komentarai. Aprašomos žinių portalo Delfi keturių publicistinių skirtingos tematikos straipsnių komentaruose pasitaikiusios paremijos: žiūrima, kokių ir kiek jų pavartota, aiškinamasi, kiek paremijos pasirinkimą lemia straipsnio tema, bandoma nustatyti, kokios paremijų pavartojimo intencijos ir ką iš pavartotos paremijos galima pasakyti apie patį komentuotoją. This article marks the starting point for the projected successive research of paremias used in the electronic discourse. The communication in the virtual space, the so-called “talking in writing” is considered by the modern communication researchers to be relatively equivalent to the spoken language. Therefore this mode of communication is suitable for paremiology in view of searching evidence for the continuity of traditional usage of paremias and in defining its modern expressions. This time, a specific kind of the electronic discourse was picked out for the analysis, namely, the comments to the news articles. Paremias used in the comments to four thematically different articles published in the news portal delfi.lt are examined in the article. The analysis includes registering the number and peculiarities of the used paremias, establishing the extent that their usage is affected by the theme of the article, determining the intentions of their use and the possible characteristics of the users. The modern society apparently has adopted mechanisms of the "paremic" thinking and speech, while using paremias in the comments to the internet articles can well be regarded as the actual living usage of paremias. It was established by the analysis that traditional paremias are more current in the internet comments rather than their transformations. Therefore question is raised, if this reflects the general pattern of using paremias in the electronic discourse and in the modern society, or if such proportion between the traditional and the modified paremias can be determined by the actual kind of the electronic discourse, namely, the internet comments. Presumably, the traditional paremias are handier as readymade phrases that can be spontaneously inserted into the comment. Besides, their general popularity ensures their greater effect and impact in comparison to the transformations, thus making them better means of persuasion. The theme of the news article determines the choice of only those paremias that are directly related to it. Apparently, in the comments to the article discussing a certain famous personality, the evaluating paremias or those describing some personal features are more numerous, while in the comments to the articles dealing with universal problematic, the generalizing paremias prevail. Some paremias are used as reactions to other comments; these can therefore be totally irrelevant to the theme of the article. Analysis of the actual position of paremias in the structural pattern of the comment reveals similarities of this "genre" both to the spoken language and to the media discourse. Using of paremias in the coherent text of the comment in order to summarize the expressed view or simply in order to state the commenter’s opinion is typical for the oral tradition. While using of paremias to entitle the comment or as the introductory phrases is typical for the journalism. Paremias used in the comments allow for conjuring up just a very general and sketchy socio-psychological portrait of the commenter. This person can be male or female, rather well-educated and civilized, characterized by his / her need for public self-expression and eager to find additional means emphasizing his / her individuality. This person is both creative and resourceful, and, most importantly, a bearer of the actual tradition of using paremias.

Straipsnyje kokybiniu metodu nagrinėjamos intertekstualumo formos reklamoje. Remiamasi R. Koženiauskienės intertekstualumo formų klasifikacija bei daromos išvados, kad įvairios intertekstualumo rūšys padeda reklamos kūrėjui išryškinti reklamuojamo daikto ypatybes, veikia adresato protą ir jausmus, taip teksto kūrėjai stengiasi sudominti arba suintriguoti potencialų pirkėją ir pastūmėti ją/jį įsigyti prekę. Skirtingų stilių tekstų komponavimas toje pačioje reklamoje yra tik reklamai būdinga intertekstualumo forma. Ja reklamos kūrėjas gali pristatyti reklamuojamą daiktą visapusiškai pabrėždamas jo gerąsias ypatybes, susiedamas jį su mokslo pasiekimais ir praktine nauda. Perfrazavimo esmė – priversti adresatą spėlioti, kas paslėpta po tekstu, koks buvo pirminis šaltinis, prisiminti, kas skaityta arba matyta, kokia nauja prasmė suteikta perdirbiniui, asociacijomis bandyti susieti kelis skirtingus, o kartu ir panašius dalykus. Antiparemijos ir aliuzijos taip pat reikalauja iš adresato papildomų žinių, tačiau jomis labiau siekiama nustebinti, paveikti minties netikėtumu ar net šokiruoti. Iš grynųjų citatų išskirtinos tautosakos citatos. Jas vartodami reklamų kūrėjai naudojasi adresato nuostatomis, kad tautosaka yra laiko patikrintos tiesos, todėl priimamos besąlygiškai. Taip pat žinoma, kad liaudies išmintimi galima ir pamokyti, ir priblokšti, o svarbiausia – mintį pasakyti trumpai, bet paveikiai. Based on the qualitative method, the article analyses the forms of intertextuality in advertising in terms of rhetoric. It relies on the classification of the forms of intertextuality proposed by R. Koženiauskienė and concludes that various types of intertextuality help the author of an advertisement to highlight the properties of the item being advertised, to raise interest in it or to intrigue the potential buyer and to drive him/her into buying the good. The composition of the texts of different styles within the same advertisement is the form of intertextuality which is solely characteristic of advertising. The author of an advertisement may use it to present the item being advertised by thoroughly highlighting its strengths, associating it with scientific achievements and practical benefit. The key point of rephrasing is to make the addressee guess what is hidden underneath the text, what its primary source was, to remember what he/she has previously read or seen and what new meaning is assigned to its new version, to try to link several different and simultaneously similar things through associations. Anti-proverbs and allusions also require the background knowledge from the addressee; however, their primary aim is to surprise, influence by the unexpectedness of thought or even to shock. Folklore citations stand out from pure citations. By using them, the creators of advertising refer to the addressee’s attitudes according to which folklore is made of time-tested truths, which are accepted unconditionally. It is also known that folklore may serve the purpose of teaching and surprising but most importantly – it is a means to express the thought in a brief, yet effective manner.

Straipsnio objektas – lietuvių paremijos, kuriose aptinkamas arklio vaizdinys. Straipsnio tikslas – atskleisti, kokios žmonių savybės lietuvių kultūroje perteikiamos pasitelkiant arklio įvaizdį. Pastebima, jog perkeltinės prasmės paremijų tekstuose arklio įvaizdis vartojamas kalbant apie vyro ir moters santykius, vestuvinius papročius, žmogaus būdo bei elgesio bruožus. Vertinamos fizinės savybės, charakterio bruožai, o emocinė žmogaus būklė reiškiama perkeltiniais arklio vaizdiniais. Taip pat atkreipiamas dėmesys į vertinimo kontekstą: kada gyvūnas pasitelkiamas pašaipai, kada pagyrimui ar paties gyvūno įvardijimui (arkliu, žirgu, kumele ir t. t.). Analizuojama medžiaga siejama su kitais tautosakos žanrais bei tradiciniam lietuvių pasaulėvaizdžiui būdingais vaizdiniais. The object of the article is Lithuanian proverbs where horse is mentioned. The aim of the research is to reveal which characteristics of a man are conveyed with an image of a horse in Lithuanian culture. Physical appearance and human character features of an emotional condition that are expressed with images of a horse are discussed. Also attention is given to the context of value: sometimes the animal is invoked for sneer, sometimes for praise. The importance of the kind of horse (horse, riding horse, mare etc.) is discussed as well. Some relation to other genres of folklore and traditional culture in general has been detected. In proverbs and short sayings, the image of a horse is portrayed in a figurative sense in description of the relationship between man and woman, also wedding customs, human character features and behaviour. It is important to note that features usually considered as positive may not necessarily be portrayed in a positive light; sometimes they are depicted with irony. Proverbs that mention horse’s attitude towards food have metaphorical meaning, as they symbolize relationship between man and woman. It is important to note that sitting on horseback may symbolize high honour and joy, or may have references to man’s age and maturity.

Straipsnyje apžvelgiami paremijų funkcijų tyrimai pasaulyje bei Lietuvoje; apibendrinus juos, stengiamasi atskleisti polifunkcinę paremijų prigimtį ir apibrėžti aiškesnę lietuvių paremijų funkcijų sistemą: apibūdinamos skirtingų lygmenų paremijų funkcijos ir aprašomos būdingiausios tradicinių paremijų funkcijos During recent years, there is an increasing need to describe certain contemporary Lithuanian paremiological phenomena: i.e. creation of the so-called anti-proverbs and emerging new kinds of expressions; besides, usage of traditional proverbs in modern contexts is more intensively investigated as well. Functional peculiarities could be regarded as making difference in usage of traditional and modern proverbs. In order to facilitate their perception, more definite functional system of traditional proverbs is required. These theoretical remarks present an attempt at summarizing the functional studies by foreign paremiologists, linguists and sociologists, in order to discern (as much as possible, considering the poly-functional character of proverbs) different functional levels and to describe the most typical functions of traditional proverbs. The poly-functional character of proverbs should be perceived both as certain fitting together of different functional levels (proverbs simultaneously "act" as linguistic units, as representatives of traditional culture, as rhetorical means and as instruments of solving the social interactions) and as fulfilling several purposes of the same level, e.g. the social ones. If we accept the idea, that majority of proverbs can be characterized by stability of semantic contents, the most general sign of content, while actually used proverb is realized in various aspects acquiring situational meaning, it seems rational to maintain that proverbs have typical "inner" functions, while being used in definite situations they serve definite purposes and perform situational functions The communicative function of proverbs is regarded as the most general one. Being folklore genre, proverbs also perform folkloric functions: that of preservation and representation of tradition, affirmation of belonging to a certain community and emphasizing its unity, the general educational, normative function and that of ensuring the psychological comfort. In his comparative study of "Lithuanian Proverbs", Kazys Grigas discerned two functions of Lithuanian proverbs and proverbial phrases: the semantic and the stylistic one. By semantic function, Grigas seems to have meant the whole entity of content-related functions of proverb: the assertive-generalizing (representative-referential), the evaluative (expressive-emotional) and the indicating (appellative-impressive) ones. The stylistic purpose is equally important for proverbs as the semantic one. The esthetic-stylistic function is manifested by the exceptionality of proverb in comparison with the "ordinary" elements of language: poetical images and peculiarities of form (the syntactic structure, rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, etc.) The contextual function embraces the intention (or intentions) of each separate instance of proverb usage. The experience accumulated by contextual research is particularly useful in describing the modern usage of proverbs and especially of anti-proverbs, because the latter are in themselves "contextual": they are frequently very tightly related to concrete relevant issues or created as specific illustrations of these issues, therefore situation of their usage determines both changes in semantic connotation and the distinctive purpose of usage